One Step at a Time
by StarWarrior72
Summary: Luke Skywalker's grade school gradutation day has come, and he is understandably nervous.


I think I just tripped. Stars, I'm not even sure. I don't think I've ever been this nervous. Don't let me fall! Please, don't let me fall! Okay, five more steps.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

_Four._

Maybe this will be more than_ five_ steps.

_Six_.

_Seven._ There, seven. I wasn't too far off. Now I just have to wait my turn. Then it'll be over. I watch my classmates head up to the stage.

_There goes Shane. Good job, Shane._

_Cue Josh. Congratulations, Josh._

_Your turn, Maddi. We're all proud of you._

_Nicki, up you go. I know you'll go far._

It's almost my turn. I'm not sure I want to go up! Maybe I just want to stay here, in line. Forever. Longer, if I have to. I glance over my shoulder. Biggs is giving me an encouraging smile from the crowds. _Crowds!_ I had no idea there were so many people here!

Okay. No, there are no crowds. Just Biggs, my aunt, my uncle, Ben… wait a second, Ben? I glance over my shoulder. Yes, that is definitely Ben. Weird… why would he come to graduation? He doesn't have any kids, does he? Whatever. Ben can be here. But the other's aren't. No, just people I care about.

_You're on your way, Cammie. We knew you could make it._

The other people are all droids. Feeling-less, emotionless, uncaring droids. They don't care what I do. My aunt and uncle won't care if I trip. Biggs'll tease me, but he won't mean it. Ben… I don't see that he'll care. It's just the other kids in my class. Oh, well. They won't care too much, I hope. Anyway, I'm right near the end, maybe they'll never even find out.

"_Windy, are you nervous?"_ Thank the stars that our names are so close together.

"_Nervous doesn't even start to cover it."_ He hissed back.

"_Thanks. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Listen, if I trip, you won't mention it to me ever again, will you?"_

"_You have to promise too."_

"_Of course I promise! Just promise me!"_

"_I won't mention it. I'll never bring it up again."_ Windy sat back. We're not supposed to be talking.

Not talking means no distraction. I have to watch the next few students go up. All my attention is on them, half hoping one of them will stumble, just a bit. I'm sure I'm going to. I don't want them hurt. I don't even want someone else to notice, even. I just want to know that someone did.

"Luke Skywalker."

I stand up and my legs are shaking like crazy. I take a deep breath and start through the other graduating students. Mrs. Denn is smiling at me. She told me I could make it. Even when I wasn't sure. I glance over my shoulder again, looking for my aunt. Instead, I find myself looking at Ben. Okay, that was weird… Well, if I subconsciously find Ben more comforting than my aunt, then this'll work.

I have to walk properly. If I don't get myself sorted out, I _will_ trip. I look over at Ben again as I work my way to the stage. Who is that beside him? I've never seen him around before… And in Anchorhead, that means that he's probably not from here.

Huh. Why would _he_ come to graduation? This is even more confusing than Ben. At least Ben's from around here. Maybe he thought he should come 'cause he saved me and Windy a couple weeks ago. Maybe Windy's mom and dad asked him to come.

But who _is_ that other guy? Okay, no. Now I really have to focus on this. Mrs. Denn is holding out her hand to shake. I reach out. Oh darn… what am I supposed to do about taking the little scroll? If I reach over with my other hand, it'll be awkward...

Mrs. Denn answered the question for me. She holds it over our clasped hands and the solution seems obvious. Just take it with my other hand. It might even look cool. I reach over. She hands me the scroll, and lets go of my hand.

I step back, and we share a smile. Thank the heavens they asked our first teachers to come too. She can _still_ make me feel better. Maybe she really is magic, like I used to think.

I step on to my next teacher, this year's teacher. He reaches out for my hand. This time I feel more confident, I take his hand. He tries to pass me a carnation, but suddenly I don't remember how to accept it. I stand there awkwardly for a moment. Finally, I reach over our clasped hands and take it. For a second, I'm sure he's holding on to it more tightly, like I'm not supposed to take it yet. I pause for a moment, before he drops it, and it almost slips right through my loose fingers. I barely manage to catch it.

He rolls his eyes at me. Well, that proves it. He really _doesn't_ like me. Aunt Beru was wrong. I am sorely tempted to stick my tongue out at him. Maybe say something like 'Ha, you _couldn't_ fail me.'

I manage not to, and walk up to my principle. He shakes my hand and smiles sternly. I smile back at him, wondering if my grin is undignified. Honestly, I can't bring myself to care. It's almost over. I didn't trip. I'll be okay… I have to stop in front of the stairs in the middle of the stage in case anyone wants to take a photo.

Yeah, right. Cause someone really- what? Who _is_ that guy? Why the hell did he just take a picture of me? My uncle'll kill him. Unless my aunt gets to him first. They are ridiculously overprotective. I don't even mind. I'm just a bit confused.

Anyway, I think I've stood here long enough. I start to walk down the stairs, and I wish I could just run to the back of the room. Having this over would be fantastic. But I have to walk slowly. Really slowly… all the way to the back.

I think of my favourite slow song, and sing it in my mind. I walk in time to the beat, and I think I'm doing pretty well. I finally reach the back of the room. The minute I'm through the doors, I run. I don't even know, or care, where I'm going. I just take off running. I do three laps of the halls before I manage to come back and sit with my classmates.

"Feeling better, Wormie?" Cammie sneers. I guess we all have our own ways of dealing with stress.

"Much, thanks." I sink down against the wall.

I'm surprised to hear students still being called to the stage. "Aren't they done yet?"

Cammie rolls her eyes, "No, you took out of here so fast I swear you were being chased by a krayt dragon. Heck, you blurred."

I look down at myself. I didn't think I was going that fast. I must have been, though, because the names are still being called, and Skywalker is pretty close to the end of the alphabet.

Finally, it's all over. My aunt and uncle come through the doors and I run to them. Aunt Beru hugs me, and Uncle Owen almost does, but then thinks better of it.

I pull back out of her arms and see the stranger over her shoulder. I guess they didn't kill him. They get distracted by talking to Windy's parents and I slip over to where he was. He's still standing there, looking like someone just stunned him.

"Who are you?" I ask, curious as heck.

"Luke!" And suddenly I find myself in yet _another_ set of arms. And I don't even know this guy!

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I manage to duck out of his arms, but Ben is waiting for me. Suddenly I'm not sure it's a good thing my uncle didn't kill both of them. They wouldn't show up at a graduation to kill one of the students, would they?

"Don't worry, Luke."

I try to duck past him, but the stranger catches me. "Of course I'm worried!" I say loudly.

"We just want to talk to you."

"Then why can't we talk with my aunt and uncle?" I'm struggling, and I don't plan to stop.

"Luke, your aunt and uncle would never let us say this to you." I'm suddenly aware that I'm being carried out of the room. The scary thing is that no one seems to care.

Ben sees that it scared me and says, "They don't see you, Luke. They would never let this happen if they knew."

I'm still shivering like crazy. I give up fighting. "Just don't kill me, please." And then I'm crying. "I still have to help my uncle with the harvest."

I might never even see the harvest. What a scary thought. But I'm being kidnapped, and who knows what these two plan to do to me.

The man who's holding me moves me until I'm curled against him, unable to move. "I'm not going to hurt you, Luke."

I don't answer. I can't. I'm crying too hard.

Finally, he puts me down in the desert, behind a dune. He doesn't stand up right away, though, and somehow that seems like something he would do if he wanted to seem to have power over me. Instead, he sits on his heels and brushes the tears off my face. I turn away; I don't want his twisted kindness.

"Luke, I brought you out here because there are some things you don't know." Ben says, and I think he's in the sand too now.

I try to crawl into the dune behind me. "There's a lot I don't know. That's normal."

"Luke, some of those things you deserve to know." This time it's not Ben's voice, so it must be the other guy.

"If my aunt and uncle don't want me to know, then it's probably best that I don't."

"Luke, don't play good son now. You will want to know this." It's Ben again.

"I try to be a good son!"

"You mean nephew." It's the other man again. Are they trying to alternate lines?

"Yeah, but what does it matter? They're the closest thing I have to parents." I was starting to cry again. I was confused, and I was still scared, and now they'd brought the most painful thing in my life into it.

"No, they're not." The stranger blurted.

"Anakin, you're hopeless!"

"Hey, you just slipped up too!"

"Anakin?" I asked.

The next thing I knew, the stranger had his arms around me again. This time, I didn't struggle. Anakin was my father's name. Did that mean? No, it couldn't…

"Father?"

"Oh, Luke. I'm so proud of you, my little boy. Congratulations on your graduation, by the way." He gave me another squeeze, "And I swear I won't kill you."


End file.
